And waited it out. There were enough stalls so no one noticed when my door stayed closed.
Another hour. And another routine. Every thirty five minutes there’d be a rush for the bathroom, followed by another rush twenty minutes later. Don’t ask me why. My only guess is that maybe they were in different meetings that would either start or end at the same time. Either that, or everyone drank their coffee at the same time.
As the last twenty-minute rush exited, I slipped onto the counter in the window-frame and tipped open the vent.
Pulling myself up, I crawled inside and hoisted the vent closed behind me. Thank God this one wasn’t screwed in place. It was a Seal-Loc, and it worked perfectly because the damn vacuum was pulling me backwards—just slightly though.
This is where I stayed—for another freaking four hours.
My adrenalin was rushing so much, my body failed to recognize that I had to pee or eat.
In some ways—that was the nice thing about jobs like this—the long-ass ones. They were also the ones that had the best rush at the end.
This hasn’t been my first time doing a job like this. One time I’d stayed in the venting shafts for a good day. My legs had barely been able to hold me upright when I set foot on ground again. But that night…that might have been one of the best nights of my life. That’s when I’d gotten the codes to Corrigan’s account. I never mentioned the account was in a bank…with maximum security.
Funny. You’d think the police would have better security, but no…they were probably equal.
I just hoped I didn’t have to stay here a full twenty-four hours.
Four hours later, I heard the day-shift investigators leave, shutting off their computers, saying goodnight. All their offices were pulled shut, with their lights off, and doors locked.
There are two areas in police headquarters. The office area—where the detectives worked and the hub—where criminals were booked and charged, where the interrogation rooms were, and where the activity would be throughout the rest of the weekend.
If my guess was right, one of these offices would belong to the detective that had been given the Pedlam case.
And, from my bank of knowledge, it was probably the ‘Small Crimes’ office.
Now, given that this building had been newly renovated and built—I’m hoping against hope that they’ve put the offices according to name. Which meant ‘Burglary and Theft’ would be the first office.
So, I took a peek in the first office I came to, which was the ‘Special Investigations’ office. That meant the offices were now in reverse order, by name.
The desk was right underneath the vent, so my feet touched lightly before I gracefully dropped to the floor. As I studied the office, I swiftly cursed as my eyes fell on a freaking map.
Grabbing it, I raked my eyes over it, absorbing every freaking detail. And, spotting the office I needed, I estimated the distance. Sixty counts, with two right turns.
So I went back up in the vent, pulling it shut behind me, and I was off. Working my way, using my system.
Same layout, which was pe
rfect for me. Stupid for the developers. I found the office I needed and I grinned, so damn smugly, when I saw a box of evidence left in a chair by the door. Grabbing it, I riffled through, skimming the desk at the same time. I saw one note scribbled on a pad—Pedlam tapes. And at the same time, my hand found two DVDs; they each had ‘Pedlam’ scrawled across in big black marker.
I looked through the rest. Just to make sure.
I found a few witness accounts. Huh. None on me, but they saw two trucks parked behind the hardware store. No license plate numbers; therefore, no credible information.
I shredded the witness accounts. Spying a candle on the desk, I opened the drawers, searching for a lighter. Flicking it on, I burned the bottoms of both the DVDs.
And I left the same way I got in.
Arriving at my car, an hour later, I first put everything back in my trunk, and then slid into my seat where I let out a deep breath. Holy shit.
My blood was pumping. My heart was racing. And my whole body was thrumming with energy.
I’d just broken into Pedlam’s police headquarters and destroyed evidence.
*
Checking my watch, I saw it was close to midnight. Carter’s party should be in full-swing by now. I had switched on the radio and heard Rawley had won, 28-14. Close enough to be a good game, but enough of a lead for bragging rights.